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Corpus Aristotelicum: Volume III: Parva Naturalia
The Parva Naturalia are a collection of seven works by Aristotle, which discuss natural phenomena involving the body and the soul. The individual works are as follows: Sense and Sensibilia On Memory On Sleep On Dreams On Divination in Sleep On Length and Shortness of Life On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
138 pages, Paperback
Published May 19, 2016
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About the author
Aristotle
4,332 books5,552 followersAristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that followed, which set the groundwork for the development of modern science.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.
Little is known about Aristotle's life. He was born in the city of Stagira in northern Greece during the Classical period. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, and he was brought up by a guardian. At 17 or 18, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of 37 (c. 347 BC). Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored his son Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. He established a library in the Lyceum, which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books on papyrus scrolls.
Though Aristotle wrote many treatises and dialogues for publication, only around a third of his original output has survived, none of it intended for publication. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him. His teachings and methods of inquiry have had a significant impact across the world, and remain a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.
Aristotle's views profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. The influence of his physical science extended from late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, and was not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics were developed. He influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophies during the Middle Ages, as well as Christian theology, especially the Neoplatonism of the Early Church and the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.
Aristotle was revered among medieval Muslim scholars as "The First Teacher", and among medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas as simply "The Philosopher", while the poet Dante Alighieri called him "the master of those who know". His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, and were studied by medieval scholars such as Pierre Abélard and Jean Buridan. Aristotle's influence on logic continued well into the 19th century. In addition, his ethics, although always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 20, 2017
Although the treatises on Sleep intrigued me prior to reading this, I really read this collection more for the sake of thoroughness than anything else. I have to say that it is probably the least interesting of the Aristotelian collections--and given Aristotle's pedantic tendencies, that's really saying something. I skipped the treatise on Memory and Reminiscence here because I had already read it previously in a book coupled with his De Anima.
I am not going to grade the book on it's obsolete knowledge; that would be anachronistically unfair; given the march of 2300+ years, one has to accept that science (then called natural or physical philosophy) was in it's infancy at that time. It is interesting though that some of the philosophers that Aristotle maligns were actually closer to the truth than he was. It does indicate that someone's logic can seem totally valid and still be totally wrong.
If one keeps in mind Aristotle's general approach to nature and philosophical physics, one can anticipate most of the basic arguments of this book without reading it. The four elements (i.e. earth, water, air, fire) and how they influence environment and bodies (e.g. in moistness/dryness and heat/cold) figure into most of Aristotle's positions. Temperature seems to be the main deciding factor for life according to Aristotle. If an animal is too hot it dies from exhaustion, if too cold, from depletion.
I was disappointed with the treatises on Sleep. I thought at least the one on Divination In Dreams would be somewhat novel and metaphysical, but it wasn't. I shouldn't have been surprised given Aristotle's very mundane explanations for all phenomena.
I give this book probably about two-and-a-half to three stars. Honestly, one can easily skip this collection if one wants to concentrate on Aristotle's essential philosophy. There's not much here that isn't discussed in other works--and probably in more interesting ways in those. The treatise On Memory and Reminiscence is probably the best of what is here and that can be obtained in a book coupled with his De Anima and that is the one I would recommend rather than this.
I am not going to grade the book on it's obsolete knowledge; that would be anachronistically unfair; given the march of 2300+ years, one has to accept that science (then called natural or physical philosophy) was in it's infancy at that time. It is interesting though that some of the philosophers that Aristotle maligns were actually closer to the truth than he was. It does indicate that someone's logic can seem totally valid and still be totally wrong.
If one keeps in mind Aristotle's general approach to nature and philosophical physics, one can anticipate most of the basic arguments of this book without reading it. The four elements (i.e. earth, water, air, fire) and how they influence environment and bodies (e.g. in moistness/dryness and heat/cold) figure into most of Aristotle's positions. Temperature seems to be the main deciding factor for life according to Aristotle. If an animal is too hot it dies from exhaustion, if too cold, from depletion.
I was disappointed with the treatises on Sleep. I thought at least the one on Divination In Dreams would be somewhat novel and metaphysical, but it wasn't. I shouldn't have been surprised given Aristotle's very mundane explanations for all phenomena.
I give this book probably about two-and-a-half to three stars. Honestly, one can easily skip this collection if one wants to concentrate on Aristotle's essential philosophy. There's not much here that isn't discussed in other works--and probably in more interesting ways in those. The treatise On Memory and Reminiscence is probably the best of what is here and that can be obtained in a book coupled with his De Anima and that is the one I would recommend rather than this.
June 3, 2017
So close to right, so obstinately wrong.
The things this man must have done to tortoises.
Entertaining.
The things this man must have done to tortoises.
Entertaining.
September 30, 2020
Psychology in the shadow of De Anima. I’ll probably skip Aristotle’s other scientific treatises.
September 4, 2024
Un opúsculo biológico a Acerca del alma. Aunque no siempre acierta da buenos argumentos
October 5, 2021
Die Gedanken des Aristoteles sind gravierend und auch heute noch hoch aktuell. Von einigen materiellen Details muss man allerdings absehen, da die Naturwissenschaften sich natürlich in hohem Maße (vor allem auch technisch) weiterentwickelt haben. Die philosophischen Gedanken sind jedoch gravierend und aktuell. Man findet im Buch wertvolle Gedanken und kausale Zusammenhänge was die Wahrnehmung betrifft. Ferner philosophische Gedanken zu Gedächtnis und Erinnerung, Schlafen und Wachen, Traum und Traumdeutung, Jugend und Alter, Leben und Tod. Beeindruckend werden z. B. kausale Zusammenhänge zum Schlafen und Wachen beschrieben und woher und warum Träume entstehen können.
December 18, 2018
Conceptually, this was an interesting read. Aristotle was certainly onto something when he distinguished between memory and recall, as well as how dreams related to the daily life of the person in waking hours. Ultimately everything tied back to the theme of sensory perception and the internal and external movements of the body.
I expected the dreams section to be more interesting and contain more concrete examples than it did. It would have made the section stronger and more fascinating.
Overall, an eye opening book on how a 2,300 year old thinker theorized the mental phenomena of memory, reminiscence, and dreams.
I expected the dreams section to be more interesting and contain more concrete examples than it did. It would have made the section stronger and more fascinating.
Overall, an eye opening book on how a 2,300 year old thinker theorized the mental phenomena of memory, reminiscence, and dreams.
February 2, 2015
Wow he was interestingly wrong.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews